Ljubljana, 23 December (STA) - The number of residential property sales in Slovenia decreased in the third quarter of the year, with sales of pre-owned homes hitting their lowest level in 14 years, shows data published by the Statistics Office on Monday. However, property prices continued to rise.
During the third quarter, a total of 1,737 deals were recorded, down 16% from the previous quarter and approximately 30% less than in the third quarter of last year.
Pre-owned residential properties accounted for 1,653 of the deals, the total value amounting to EUR 261.8 million, while 84 new residential properties were sold, worth approximately EUR 25.1 million.
Residential real estate prices increased again in the third quarter, with prices of pre-owned properties rising for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Quarter-on-quarter, prices rose by 1.7%, with pre-owned properties experiencing a higher rate of increase.
Pre-owned homes, meaning both apartments and houses combined, saw a price rise of 1.9% over the previous quarter. Prices for pre-owned family houses increased by 3.6%, while pre-owned apartments recorded a 0.9% increase.
For pre-owned apartments, the sharpest price increases occurred in the "rest of Slovenia" (+1.3%), followed by Ljubljana (+0.3%), whereas prices in Maribor fell by 0.8%.
New residential real estate saw a slight price increase of 0.2% compared to the second quarter. Prices of new apartments rose by 0.2%, while new family houses recorded a marginal increase of 0.1%.
On an annual basis, residential property prices rose by 7.9% in the third quarter. The most significant increase was seen in pre-owned apartments (+8.9%), followed by pre-owned family houses (+7.5%). New apartments were 7.0% more expensive than in the third quarter of last year, while new family houses saw a price rise of 3.4%.
The total value of all residential properties sold in the third quarter was EUR 286.9 million, approximately 15% less than in the previous quarter and about 20% lower than a year ago.
